Declare area affected by Uma Oya Project a danger zone: JVP

Chief Opposition Whip and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday urged the government to declare the area affected by the Uma Oya Project as a danger zone. He told parliament that the project had caused severe damage to the environment and property of the people. “More than 4,000 houses, several schools and religious places have been damaged because of the project. Most of the farmers in the area including residents of Bandarawela have been affected by the project as most of the water sources have gone dry.the Badulla-colombo and Bandarawela-heeloya roads have caved in at several places,” he said.

Mr. Dissanayake said the Bandarawela town was severely affected by the project and that this would trigger more damage in the future. While questioning if an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was done prior to implementing the project, Mr. Dissanayake said a comprehensive report should be presented in parliament after conducting a scientific study on the environmental impact of the project.

In his response, Deputy Minister Anuradha Jayarathna said an EIA had been conducted by the Sri Jayewardenepura University in 2011, and that some serious issues that were not stated in the report have cropped up today. He informed parliament that some US$ 57 billion had been spent on the project so far, and that 77 per cent of the project had been completed by now. Mr. Dissanayake said Sri Jayewardenepura University was not equipped with facilities to conduct an EIA but such facilities were available at the Moratuwa and Peradeniya universities.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Jayaratne said the government could not guarantee the project to be hazard free but however, it had taken every effort to minimise the inconvenience and damages caused to the people.

He said the President had sought support from Switzerland and Norway to minimise these hazards and that a team of engineers from Switzerland had already visited the area.